Men’s basketball coach Saul Phillips was this week’s guest on the Green and White Review. Here are some highlights from his interview.
Ohio men’s basketball coach Saul Phillips joined the Green and White Review, which airs at 7:30 p.m. on WOUB AM 1340 Thursday, this week as a guest and talked about the upcoming season. Here’s a brief Q&A from our interview.
GWR: How did you manage to overcome the difficulty of not being able to put a recruiting class together?
SP: I’m kind of used to doing it that way. We weren’t anybody’s first choice in Fargo, North Dakota — just a flat out fact. Our best players, we didn’t go against anybody else for, period. … I like where we’re going. By the end of this early signing period, there’s a good chance I’ll have signed nine guys since April. I don’t know if there’s a busier staff — I don’t know if we’re the best staff — but we’re the busiest right now.
GWR: How good do you think Maurice Ndour can be?
SP: We’ve had NBA scouts coming through already — that tells you something. They aren’t coming to watch me coach, I can promise you that, and I’m certain my days of playing point guard are over. He’s a high-end talent. I like to tell people he’s just like you and me, except for he’s 6 feet 9 inches with a 7-foot-6-inch wingspan, and he speaks five languages. In the nicest possible way, the guy’s a complete freak, and that’s a great attribute to have as a basketball player.
He’s hungry, I think he wants to win a bunch. Honestly, he wants to put together a solid resume tape so he can make some money playing basketball down the road, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.
GWR: What’s it been like working with student media so much?
SP: Just an absolute wrestling match every day, just hard-hitting. [laughs] Listen, I chose to coach college basketball, I like being around college kids. I wish I was permanently your age. If you could freeze me in one moment in time it’d be in college. That is the greatest, I’m like Brian Bosworth, that’s where it all happened. No, it’s been great. … I’m a very optimistic guy. I see a lot of potential in college kids, I see a lot of upside in college kids. Not only my players but the general student population. We’ve got a bunch of bright young people having a blast here. What’s wrong with that? Nothing.
@chadlindskog
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